SAN ANTONIO, Tx. – The UC Santa Cruz men's soccer team dropped a hard fought 2-1 match against the No. 5 Trinity Tigers on Friday evening. The Banana Slugs struck first with an early goal from Jackson Chandler but the Tigers managed to score two unanswered goals to seal the 2-1 win over UCSC. Trinity outshot UCSC 19-5 in the contest, putting 10 shots on frame to UCSC's three but Tobias Jacobson-Bell played stellar in goal, making eight saves on the night. The match featured a physical play style as there were 21 fouls in the contest with UCSC being credited for 14 of them with three yellow cards on the Banana Slugs and two on the Tigers.
 
How It Happened
The No. 5 Trinity Tigers started the night with two quick shots, storming into their attacking third right after the opening whistle but both shots missed wide. UC Santa Cruz quickly countered as Kotetsu Horike slotted a pass to a running Jackson Chandler who surged past the last defender and took a left footed shot underneath the keepers outstretched arms at the top of the box and into the back of the net, giving UCSC the 1-0 lead just 4:54 into the contest.

The Banana Slugs continued to apply the pressure as Horike found himself with a similar opportunity, beating his defender and forcing a near sided save by Trinity in the 12th minute. UC Sana Cruz continued to play well for much of the half, controlling much of the play through the midfield but the Tigers picked up the intensity down the stretch and earned a free kick just outside the box with 18 seconds left in the half. Despite a solid wall up front, the Tigers bent a shot into the upper 90 to tie the contest 1-1 just before the halftime break.

Out of the break, the Tigers managed to stifle the UCSC attack, holding the Banana Slugs to zero shots while registering 12 of their own. The Tigers managed to put one into the back of the net after a messy play right in front of the goal mouth at the 75:07 mark gave them an open look at goal to make it 2-1. Tobias Jacobson-Bell made the initial save on the first shot, but the deflected ball found the foot of a Tiger before getting sent into the back of the net.
UC Santa Cruz couldn't find the equalizer as Trinity continued to pressure for the final 15 minutes of action to take the 2-1 victory.